Contour chair with adjustable seat



Oct. 5, 1954 Filed April 17, 1951 L. C. MALCO CONTOUR CHAIR WITH ADJUSTABLE SEAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 5, 1954 c, MALCO 2,690,791

CONTOUR CHAIR WITH ADJUSTABLE SEAT Filed April 17, 1951 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 All ants 4 l i 21 2; nu? j a W b 6 16d FIG. J5 Z6 M15. iii

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 5, 1954 l'lED srATr;

TENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a contour chair with a portion of the seat being vertically adjustable to different sizes so that a person sitting in the chair will have a foot or leg rest somewhat elevated above the seat level of the chair.

An object of my invention is to provide a contour chair in which the front portion of the seat is so mounted that it can be raised vertically above the level of the rear portion of the seat.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel contour chair in which the front portion of the seat is hinged to the frame of the chair and can be moved upwardly so as to assume an elevated position above the normal horizontal position of the seat.

A feature of my invention is to provide a contour chair with an adjustable seat so arranged that the front portion of the seat can be raised vertically as desired and at the same time the back is hinged and can be pivoted about its hinge to provide a semi-reclining position and all of the parts can be fixed in their adjusted position, as desired by the user.

Another feature of my invention is to provide a novel contour chair with an adjustable seat in which the advantages of an adjustable seat, as well as an adjustable back, are provided in a chair in which the normal chair contours are preserved so that the chair does not have an unusual style or shape but, on the contrary, conforms to the modem or period design of furniture.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one type of my contour chair in normal position of the seat.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same showing a portion of the seat in raised position.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of seat mount.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 in the seat portion is elevated.

Figure 5 is a side view of still another type of link mount between the seat and the frame.

Figure 6 is a side elevation similar to Figure 5, showing the seat portion in raised position.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of still another link type of connection betwen the seat and the frame.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 showing the seat portion in raised position.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of still another type of leg rest for a chair.

which Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 showing the leg rest in raised position.

Figure 11 is a side view of one of the clamps for the hinged portions of the chair.

Figure 12 is a top plan view of the same.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary side elevation of the slotted link connection to the seat portion as shown in Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral i indicates the usual chair frame which includes the usual legs, all of which may be styled as desired. A back 2 is hingedly attached to the frame i at 3, and may be moved around this hinge as desired by the user. One method of securing the back 2 in its adjusted position is an arm rest 4, provided with a slot 5, into which a bolt (-3 extends, this bolt fitting in the side of the back 2. The bolt rides in the groove 5 and may be tightened against the arm t thus holding the back 2 in its adjusted position.

The seat includes a fixed rear portion 7 which rests in the frame 4 of the chair and an adjustable front portion 8. The seat portions '5 and 8 may be padded as desired and when in the lower position, shown in Figure 1, form the usual width and depth of a chair seat. The front portion 8 of the seat can be raised above the position shown in Figure 1 and thus form an elevated support for the legs of the user. This vertical movement of the front seat portion 8 is accomplished by a rack 9 which depends from the seat portion 8 and is guided in the frame I of the chair. This rack is engaged by a manually rotatable gear ll), thus enabling the seat to be raised or lowered in an amount desired by the user. The gear It can be clamped and prevented from rotating by a friction clamp such as the hinge shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 284,577, filed April 26, 1952. A foot rest H is mounted in the seat portion 8. In the raised position of the seat portion 8, the back rest 2 is lowered, as shown in Figure 2, thus providing a more comfortable semi-reclining position for the user.

In Figure 3 the frame portion I2 is again formed in any style desired and the back i8 is attached to this frame in the usual and well known manner of furniture construction. A rear seat portion or section It is also provided, which is preferably somewhat less than one-half of the entire seat area of the chair. The front seat portion l5 of the chair is pivotally attached to the frame l2 by the pivot l6, and this pivot may have a friction lock or a lock of any other usual type so that the front seat portion l5 can be held in a tilted position, as shown in Figure 4. The

friction lock 6' consists of plates [6 secured to the frame of the chair and an overlapping plate I6 secured to the seat I5, these plates being engaged by friction discs l6 which are clamped by the nut 16 The seat portion l also includes a depending leg portion 11, which is integral with the seat 15. In the tilted position of the seat t5, the leg portion l1 assumes a substantially horizontal position, as shown.

To further support and stabilize the seat IS in its tilted position, I provide a pair of links l8 which are pivotally attached at one end to the frame l2 and at the other end to the front portion of the seat IS. The links l8 are slotted as shown at I8, thus permitting swinging movement of the links.

In Figures 5 and 6 I have shown a seat construction quite similar to that shown in Figures 3 and 4, in which the back rest i 9 is substantially identical to the construction described for the back l3. The front seat portion 20 is angularly tiltable relative to the rear seat portion 2! by means to the two links 22 and 23 which are provided at one end of the frame 24, and at the other end to the seat portion 20, as shown. The pivotal connection of the links 22 and 23 to the frame 24 may have friction locks so as to hold the seat portion 20 in its tilted position. These friction locks are of the same type as described above in the description of Figure 3.

In Figures 7 and 8 I have shown the construction which is ssomewhat similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2, in that the front seat portion 25 is moved vertically above the plane of the rear seat portion 26. The back 27 is again pivotally mounted on the frame 23 by the bolts or pins 21'. A friction lock, such as described for Figure 3, may be mounted on the pins 27. The front seat portion 25 is attached to the frame 23 by means of the two links 23 and 30 which are pivotally secured at one end to the frame 28 and at the other end to the front seat portion 25, substantially as shown.

In Figures 9 and the back 3| and seat 32 are mounted on a frame 33 in the usual and well known manner and are not necessarily adjustable.

To provide a leg rest, a transverse pad 34 is pivotally mounted on the frame 33 by links 35 which enables the user to swing the pad upwardly as shown in Figure 10 to a position to support the legs of the user. Also, the front portion of the chair 36 is pivotally attached to a link 36' by the pivot 31, thus enabling the part 36 to be swung upwardly to act as a foot support. The link 36' is pivoted to the frame 33 of the chair by the pin 38, which pin also pivots the link 35 as shown.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A contour chair with adjustable seat comprising a frame, a rear seat portion mounted on said frame, a front seat portion, said front seat portion including a material part of the entire area of the seat, a back rest mounted on the frame, and means coupling the front seat portion and the frame to permit vertical movement of the front seat portion above the plane of the rear seat portion, said means comprising a link pivotally attached at one end to the front seat portion and at the other end to the frame.

2. A contour chair with adjustable seat comprising a frame, a rear seat portion fixedly mounted on the frame, a back rest rising from the frame and mounted thereon, a front seat portion, said front seat portion forming a material part of the outer area of the seat, means pivotally mounting the inner end of said front seat portion to the frame, and a link pivotally secured at one end to the front seat portion and at the other end to the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 'Date 1,026,782 Berggren May 21, 1912 1,233,249 Koken July 10, 1917 1,310,581 Russo July 22, 1919 2,571,080 Watter Oct. 9, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 215,087 Great Britain May 1, 1924 

